GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Has $513.83 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• GUARDCAP Asset Management cut its CME Group stake by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, but CME still remains its largest holding at about $513.8 million and 13.7% of its portfolio.
• CME Group reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 versus the $3.11 consensus and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable June 25, which annualizes to $5.20 per share and yields about 1.9%.

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,882,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 361,342 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 13.7% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned approximately 0.52% of CME Group worth $513,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 121,707 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,325.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,497,000 after buying an additional 21,918 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,344,000 after buying an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $273.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.51. The stock has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.17 and a 52 week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced that Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will present at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference on June 4, which keeps the company visible to investors and may reinforce its growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says CME’s planned 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading could attract more institutional crypto volume, which may support future derivatives activity and trading revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also lowered margin requirements on gold and silver futures, a move that may help keep trading active during volatile commodity markets but is not clearly a major fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary from the CME floor highlighted sticky inflation and stronger durable goods data, which could keep Fed policy uncertain and sustain trading activity, but the direct impact on CME stock is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto articles suggesting Bitcoin’s “CME gap” may disappear with round-the-clock trading could reduce the market’s focus on CME-specific weekend price gaps, weakening one of the more visible trading narratives tied to the company’s crypto franchise. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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